


Inheritance

by BlueRaith



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: AU of my AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Firebender!Asami, Vigilante!Asami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-14 17:51:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3420008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRaith/pseuds/BlueRaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After her father is grievously injured, Asami struggles with her identity as a bender. She resolves to never allow anyone to suffer as her family has.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rare beginning Author's Note today. This is sort of an AU of Element of Life. You only need to read the first chapter of that fic to get on track for this one. (Though it's not mandatory. Mostly read it for further context.) Basically, I wanted to know what Asami (with firebending because I have that on the mind right now) would be like if Yasuko and Hiroshi's fates were switched. I also wanted to write a more ambitious AU this time, rather than EoL and Last and First's type in which I only really change one thing and see how things play out. Here are the rules, if you will:
> 
> Hiroshi is the one that is attacked by the Agni Kais  
> He actually survives to become an Equalist.  
> Asami is a firebender.  
> Yasuko is alive.  
> Korrasami is the only pairing.  
> This is a Book 1 only fic.
> 
> I won't say anything more than that besides that this is much more AU than my other fics. I hope you guys like what I have in mind for this.

Hiroshi got home late that night. It was unavoidable, Future Industries was on the cusp of releasing a new line of Satomobiles. They had to be as perfect as physically possible if he hoped to outsell Cabbage Corp. Rival wasn't a word he particularly liked to associate with that corporation. Their craftsmanship was abysmal and they focused on cheap products that would need replacing in a matter of a few years, rather than Future Industries's lust for perfection. His reputation for detail and care rode on his product. He wanted everyone to buy his latest inventions because they were _amazing._ And he would strive for nothing less.

Of course, that meant little to Yasuko and Asami. He knew he had been neglecting them lately. He had no excuse for it. Hiroshi knew that he would have to make his absences up to them somehow. Perhaps a trip to one of their vacation homes. No work and no interruptions. He and Yasuko could reconnect and he could finally teach Asami how to properly wire his wife's radio.

“You're home,” Yasuko said sleepily as he stepped into their bedroom.

She had waited up for him. He never liked it when she did so, it made him feel guilty. Hiroshi knew he worked too hard sometimes, he didn't want his wife to adopt his bad habits. At least she could be rested for Asami during the day. Their daughter could be a handful, and he knew it wasn't fair that she had to often deal with the little girl's quirks but he could see no other option right now. Once the Satomobiles released, he'd be able to help. Not to mention reassemble anything Asami has taken apart recently.

She needed another trip to his workshop. He could teach her how a Satomobile's engine worked. Asami was so bright, but she got so bored, so easily. It was why he was never too upset when she would break anything in the mansion trying to find out how it worked. Of course, it never hurt that she reminded him of himself when he was around her age. Her uncanny resemblance to her mother and her ability to shine with innocent curiosity also meant a quick end to any anger he could have with the six-year-old. Yasuko often told him Asami had him wrapped around her finger. Hiroshi couldn't deny that charge.

“You didn't have to wait up for me, Yasuko. I wish you wouldn't,” he sighed.

“I don't want to argue about this again, Hiroshi. I want to see you before I go to bed. I know you've been busy and I know why, but don't deny me this,” she told him stubbornly.

Truthfully, he didn't want to argue tonight either. He was exhausted and no matter how much he didn't like her waiting for him, he had to admit that he liked seeing her too. They would often talk about their days if he wasn't too tired or if they weren't too upset with each other about this old argument. Reluctantly, he dropped the subject.

“What did you two do today?”

“My day wasn't particularly eventful. I entertained a little get together with Councilman Turrok's wife and her entourage. It was just a dreary as you said it would be,” she chuckled. “I don't think Asami liked playing with his son. He's a rude little thing and I had her favorite prepared for dinner to make up for it. She was so sweet today despite his attitude.”

“Of course she was, you wouldn't have allowed any different,” Hiroshi asserted. Asami was very well mannered for her age and he attributed that to his wife. They were both the sweetest people he has ever had the pleasure to know. “I am surprised though that she didn't simply leave him somewhere if he was that bad. Are you sure she hasn't taken the phonographs apart again?”

Yasuko giggled. Hiroshi wasn't sure what he thought about that. It always meant she wanted to keep something from him. Never anything bad, since these surprises were those that she always found amusing. Still, Hiroshi always wanted to know what was going on. He and Asami shared that trait and Yasuko enjoyed using it against them on occasion.

“Oh, she was too busy with something else today, I think,” was all she told him.

“What was it?” He knew it was fruitless asking her when she was like this. She wanted to surprise him for some reason and she was very stubborn when it came to her surprises.

“Asami wants to tell you tomorrow, so you'll find out then,” she grinned.

Asami? _Asami_ wanted to surprise him? The same daughter that often jumped in his arms to chatter excitedly about whatever she had rebuilt (and he had to subsequently repair) or learned that day because she wanted his thoughts on it? They were supposed to be Team Sato, engineers of a new age, collaborators of tomorrow. (And all of the other silly mottos he came up with in the workshop to make her laugh.) If she was now teaming up with his wife….

“You two are going to be the death of me, aren't you?” Hiroshi laughed.

“She's very excited to tell you, Hiroshi. Please don't brush her off tomorrow. I know you're busy with the company right now, but I don't want you to hurt her feelings,” Yasuko said, suddenly very serious.

It was a topic they often skirted around. One that Hiroshi knew they would actually argue about one day. Yasuko thought he spent too much time working, that he would forget about them in favor of his work. It was an accusation that was unfortunately too true for comfort. He _knew_ she was right and she knew that he realized that. Only… Future Industries was something he built from the ground up personally. After having _nothing_ in his life in comparison. He wanted a life for his family. One that was absolutely nothing like the one he had lived before all of this. Before Asami, before Yasuko and before Future Industries. When he was nothing but a shoe shiner, struggling to make a living and wrestling with ideas that he was sure could change the world for the better, day in and day out. He didn't want Asami to know what that was like. Ever.

“It is a _good_ surprise, isn't it?” he asked, just in case. He didn't really think it wouldn't be. Not if Yasuko was this serious about it. If it was this important to their daughter, he wouldn't dream of hurting her over it. Hiroshi could barely scold her enough as it was, let alone think of crushing her feelings about anything.

“Of course!”

“Then it will be just the three of us during my lunch hour. I promise.”

They retired to bed not long after that. Yasuko feeling excited for her daughter and Hiroshi almost painfully curious about what in the world his family was hiding from him. Neither knew that the Agni Kai Triad was going to break into their house that night. Or that Hiroshi would not learn of Asami's surprise for many years to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if you guys noticed, but I'm kind of a masochist when it comes to writing some really happy Sato family fluff so that way I can then tear them apart and put them through miserable situations. They were a happy family at some point, I think, and that only makes their fate in my fics and in canon more sad when I think about it.


	2. Secret

She was fourteen when she finally decided to do something about the triads. It didn't happen over night, she had to be very careful not to allow her mother to find out what she wanted to do, but Asami knew that she was tired of hiding. This was when she had started to become interested in reading the newspaper, when she was old enough to gain a fledgling interest in what was taking place in Republic City. The front page had been plastered with a story over the triads murdering another person's father. It had bothered her all day and she hadn't really known why until that night when she and her mother were eating dinner.

“I think I want to learn how to bend,” she said suddenly. So suddenly that Asami had surprised even herself.

Her mother had actually stopped midway in putting her fork in her mouth in her own surprise.

“I- really?”

Asami really couldn't blame her. Her mother had been trying for years to convince her to bend, never quite giving up on helping her daughter through her mental block, but she didn't broach the subject as much as she used to. They both knew why Asami was unable to firebend, visiting her father tended to make her even more resolute in her decision, but her mother was determined to help her move on. Eventually. But so far, it wasn't working. Asami had still been too traumatized but now it seemed she had changed her mind on the spot. Which Asami considered that was probably the closest thing to the truth.

“Yeah. Dad's getting better now. He probably wouldn't like that I've been avoiding it for him,” Asami said unconvincingly. She was giving only the partial truth. She hadn't been bending because of what happened to her father. That night had scared her. She could remember how hot it had been in the house as the firebenders destroyed things just to destroy them. Her mother had carried her out of her room as her father tried to keep the triad members from following them. And they had burned them. She hadn't seen it directly, her mother had saved her from that much. But she could remember how he sounded.

But she wasn't wanting to bend again entirely for his sake. She was tired of feeling afraid now. It was something that has been bothering her more and more lately. She could feel her fire within her and it wanted her to touch it again. That article was what finally pushed her into at least _trying_ again. Asami thought it was probably high time for the triads to be afraid of something. It would take years for her to be able to do anything, she had to actually determine if she _could_ bend again, let alone mastering the element. Asami Sato never did anything halfway.

“No, he probably wouldn't. He'd want you to be happy,” her mother agreed evenly. But she was studying Asami. Her mother was always able to tell when she was lying to her and this was something Asami was determined to keep from her. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her mother.

“Are you feeling all right, sweetie? I don't want you to do this for your father. You should learn to bend again for yourself.”

Asami was doing this for herself. She wanted the nightmares to stop, she knew that now. She might not have known what she wanted that morning, but now she did. The more she considered this, the more real her idea was becoming to her. It was going to be hard, Asami wasn't so naive to believe otherwise, but she would be careful and she would do what the city either couldn't or  _wouldn't_ do.

“I know. And I will. I'm sure about this, Mom.”

“All right. Asami, you don't have to tell me why you really want to do this. You can, I want to help you, but I want you to be happy again. I'm proud of you,” her mother smiled gently at her and Asami had to smile back through her guilt. She doubted her mother would be happy with what she was planning, but she hated lying to her. It was probably for the best though.

* * *

Asami hadn't been wrong when she thought that it would take time to be ready before she started striking back against the triads. It took her six months to finally,  _finally_ get past her fears. Another two and a half years to master fire enough to comfortably fight people who have been using their element for their entire lives. Asami, however, always worked to be the best at what she did.

Which didn't mean she wasn't without her mistakes. Asami vividly remembered the first time she had fought against the criminals. It had been entirely by chance.  She was in the right place at the right time and she had luckily managed to have had her goggles on hand. It would  _not_ do to be photographed by a journalist and have her mother read about this in the paper the next morning. Or her father for that matter. He was finally approaching the final months in his physical therapy. Asami was glad he was finally well enough to remember them without the flashbacks.

“Listen Mr. Chin, I like your little business. I shop here occasionally, you know that. I would really _hate_ if anything happened to it. Just give us the money we're asking for and I can come in here tomorrow to grab some of those nice scarves you sell,” one of the gangsters grinned maliciously.

They were all outside his shop. Mr. Chin had a broom in his hand. The poor man hadn't even seen the triad members, the Red Monsoons Asami judged from their colors, coming and he looked absolutely terrified.

“Look, I had your money. I really did! But I had a break in last week. I had to use it to repair the shop! The thieves broke right in through the front window! I couldn't leave it like that,” he whimpered in protest.

The leader tsked in disappointment. “Mr. Chin, you know that's not going to cut it. I really don't like hearing you imply that we haven't been looking out for your shop, either.”

“What-? No, I-I wasn't suggesting that at all!”

Asami had heard enough. She was glad she was even in the area to begin with. It seemed road testing her designs for the new Satocycles were going to pay off in more ways than one. She had no idea what they were going to do to this man and his small shop, but she wasn't going to wait to find out.

Quickly, she donned the hood she had brought and pulled her goggles down.  The hood was another stroke of luck. She had developed it for another invention she was working on. Asami had originally wanted to test it while riding to see how it would manage her hair. Flying in an open cock-pit was going to be difficult enough as it was without her hair snapping around her head and she figured testing it along with her motorcycle was a good first step.

A sami knew that her firebending master would probably hate what she was going to do next, but she saw no reason to telegraph what she was going to do to a bunch of thugs. They were threatening an innocent man, so that was enough for her.

She quickly swung a fist towards the leader Monsoon. He never saw the burst of fire coming toward his head. Asami didn't make it particularly hot, just enough force to knock him over and out of the devolving fight.

“What the-?!” One of the other two Monsoons left looked toward her frantically. However, once he saw her, he smirked. Apparently he wasn't going to take her seriously.

“Little girl, you've just made a huge mistake. Do you even know who we are?” He asked as he strutted towards her.

Asami knew, but she didn't really care. The second shot of fire she sent out said as much as well. Quickly, the triad goon flicked water out of the skin he carried on his hip to block the heat, but the force knocked him back a few steps.

“Come on, let's teach this kid not to mess with the Red Monsoons,” he growled to his friend.

Asami only smirked back at him. This felt surprisingly good. The shop keeper took the opportunity she presented to him and had ran off and she was actively trying not to cause too much damage to anything besides the men who were bullying him. It wouldn't do much good to take on these idiots but destroy his shop in the process. Then where would the poor man be?

At any rate, this was going exactly like she had wanted it to when she had first thought up of fighting back against the triads three years ago. Saving people that were defenseless against benders who took advantage of the fact that they had power some people didn't. Asami would show them that not all benders were willing to step aside.

The Monsoons began to work in tandem, the left one shooting out shards to ice to distract her, while the other tried to wrap a water whip around her legs to knock her to the ground. Which Asami was not going to allow. It would end the fight immediately in their favor, but also because of the fact that despite being able to bend, the Monsoons weren't the greatest waterbenders Asami has seen. She would consider it an insult to her teachers both in firebending and in general self-defense if she let these two defeat her here.

So she jumped above the whip and kicked out before her in an arc, sending a barrier of fire towards the Monsoon shooting out ice shards. They were immediately melted in  its wake as she landed and rushed the Monsoon quickly. Asami was upon him in seconds as his partner struggled to keep up with what happened. Asami wouldn't be surprised if their double team had ended many other opponents in the past with little effort. It didn't take much to kick the Monsoon's legs out from under him and slam his body into the pavement, his head hitting the ground roughly. He was going to wake up with a fierce headache later.

“Hey, lady, come on…,” the last Monsoon said uneasily. Asami thought it was funny she was apparently now upgraded to 'lady' rather than 'kid.' The triads weren't so quick to fight people that could actually hurt them. Asami wondered just how differently things could have gone that night if her father had been a bender as well. The Agni Kais might not have even broken into their mansion if they had known.

It was the thought of her father that made Asami punch the remaining man harder than she actually wanted to. She could feel his jaw give way and her knuckle crack as she winced. She was going to have to visit a healer now and that would make her late for her visit to her father. Her mother wasn't going to be happy about that. They were supposed to meet up before then so that Yasuko could drive them to the hospital. Apparently Asami's driving left a lot to be desired as far as her mother was concerned. Asami didn't see where she was coming from.

The echoing thud of a block of ice hitting her jerked her from her thoughts. Asami immediately felt her right shoulder snap out of place as pain radiated from the hit. Now she was  _really_ going to be late and she had nothing to blame this on but her own stupidity. Why on earth had she allowed herself to be so distracted?

She quickly spun around to see who had hit her, but only saw the Monsoon leader's back as he ran to escape her. Asami guessed that was meant to be a head shot so he could get as far away from her as possible. It didn't matter.  She wasn't going to be chasing after him. Her only goal had been to stop them from hurting Mr. Chin and she had succeeded. Still, Asami was disgusted with the man for leaving his friends behind. Apparently there was no love lost between triad members.

It would do her no good to stick around either. Asami hopped back on to her Satocycle and rode away as carefully as she was able with a dislocated shoulder. She was going to have to find the nearest hospital to get looked at and judging the area she was in right now, there was probably going to be a lot of other patients to take care of if triad activity was a regular thing here. Her mother was going to be so upset with her when she got home.

And she was. Yasuko was waiting for her in the parlor by the time she had finally arrived home two hours later. Her mother looked like she had wanted to lecture her as soon as she walked in the door. Asami guessed it was probably going to be about how much she disappointed her father, which she could perfectly understand. He had been looking forward to seeing them both today and she had stood him up without so much as a phone call. But then her mother saw the sling her right arm rested in and worry took over her features.

“Asami, what happened? Where have you been?”

She made sure to stay still as her mother rushed to her and began to examine her, as if to make certain Asami wasn't hurt anywhere else. She figured she owed her mom that much.

“I'm okay, Mom. Just a few bumps and bruises,” she said lightly. “I was mugged on my way to meeting you. Don't freak out, I took care of the guy.”

Of course, telling her mother not to panic was fruitless. This was the first time Asami had ever returned home like this.

“How did this happen? _Where_ did this happen? I thought you were coming home straight from the factory. Did one of the workers do this to you?”

This was where Asami knew she was going to have to take a fall. Her mother was very good a reading her. It was something she wasn't sure she liked. It was nice that she was able to help her with any issues she was having, but considering the fact that Asami absolutely did not want her mother finding out about her new hobby, she was going to have to be careful with what she told her. Starting with keeping her story at least  _ partially  _ truthful.

“No, I was testing the new Satocycle. A triad member did this,” Asami admitted reluctantly.

Yasuko had made it perfectly known that she wasn't a fan of Asami's driving. She tended to speed, and Asami knew she had complete control of any vehicle she was driving at all times. She was a natural driver, after all. While her speeding tended to only get on her mother's nerves, nothing actually made her angry like the thought of Asami riding her Satocycle. While undoubtedly speeding. In the city limits.

“Asami Sato. Do not tell me that you took that motorcycle off the race track. Were you in the  _ boroughs?!  _ You know how I feel about that, Asami! The triads are all over the place there! What were you thinking? You could have wrecked that stupid thing and then what would have happened? Or you could have been attacked by much worse!”

It was times like these that reminded Asami she was seventeen and still young enough to be lectured by her mother. Of course her mother would probably say she was never going to be too old for this, but still. In the end, after having to guiltily listen to her mother explain loud and clear just how worried Asami had made her by disappearing and coming home injured, Asami had been forbidden from going into Future Industries for the next month. Her mother was running the company's business side until her father returned as CEO and she was perfectly within her power in ordering Asami into a leave of absence.  Which just about killed her. Asami loved working at the factory.

What was worse was that Asami wasn't able to even be upset about this. She certainly knew where her mother was coming from. It wasn't often when she would do things just to make her mother angry, the most she would do was drive her Satocycle in the city because she loved driving it and she loved doing so off the track; the track could get so boring, but Asami knew that was far from the only thing she had done today and that she had hid the real reason for her injury from her mother. If she knew the truth, Asami knew it would have been a lot worse for her. Besides, her mother had never grounded her so severely before. Certainly the fact that she had probably hurt her father's feeling today had come into play. As far as Yasuko knew, Asami had missed his visitation hours because she was doing something entirely stupid and irresponsible.

So she resolved to never be so careless again. Asami would continue fighting the triads. All things considered, this had been a very successful first fight. She would improve on everything, probably design a disguise specifically for this and modify her Satocycle to be absolutely inconspicuous and faster than the Satomobiles her mother sold to the police department. And just generally do what she did best. Design plans to perfection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is about the longest chapter I've written in quite a while. I was worried about it too. Not so much that it was particularly difficult to write, it actually kinda flowed right out and I knocked this out in like an hour and a half altogether. But, I had to get my sister to beta-read this one, which she hasn't ever done for any of my other stuff before. Let me just say that I'm well aware of what I'm pretty okay at when I write. Mostly the introspective stuff that's scattered throughout just about everything I write and character interaction. I do not do well when it comes to describing things. Like what people look like and the environment. If any of you have noticed, I really don't touch that stuff at all. Which makes writing things like fight scenes a really bizarre experience for me. So, what I was most concerned about, even when I thought about writing this fic at all in the beginning, was whether or not I'd be able to pull off what's basically a superhero!Asami fic. Writing out fight scenes tend to make me feel like I start to ramble off and I lose even myself on what the heck is even happening. On a mechanics side of things, I wanted to write this stuff to practice and just develop the skill period.
> 
> I'm absolutely open to critiques on this. Like I said, I RARELY write this kind of thing, and I really want to because I have some stuff I'm really excited to get to eventually, and I also like to do things as well as I can. So, if any of you have any pointers of what I guess is description writing (seriously, what is this even called?) then I'd be ecstatic to read it.


	3. Deception

Yasuko held a charity every year for victims of triad violence. How could she not? Her family had been affected very personally by this issue and it always seemed like there wasn't enough being done to help people who had suffered the same misfortune. Her family had been very fortunate to have the wealth that they did in order to care for Hiroshi, but many others did not. Especially those in the boroughs, the people the triads seemed to victimize the most.

She had never thought, however, of what kind of people those victims were. It never occurred to her. All that really mattered was that the triads were out of control and there were families in the city who had no recourse for medical bills, insurance for destroyed shops or even funds for funeral expenses. As far as she was concerned, they all had the same thing in common and they all had a right to aid.

It wasn't until her seventh annual gala that it came to her attention there were those who thought the charity she raised was better spent on more specific people.

He had waited to approach her until he was certain she was alone, that much was obvious. Especially since she had been heading to the powder room on the second floor of the mansion. The second floor was supposed to be closed to guests. Yasuko had thought the man overly bold from the start and his cold, piercing blue eyes did nothing to put her more at ease.

“Mrs. Sato, I was wondering if I could have a private word with you,” he asked her in a gravely voice. It wasn't one that she liked.

“I'm sorry, can this wait? I'm afraid I have something to address,” she tried to dodge him. The man wasn't someone that she knew and he was giving her a peculiar feeling.

“I won't take much of your time,” he told her. “I wanted to get your opinion on the triads.”

Was that all? Was it not obvious that she didn't care for them? They had forced her husband into long term care and her daughter still had nightmares to this day. Yasuko didn't exactly sleep well some nights either.

“I'm not a fan,” she said drily.

“Yes, you aren't alone in that. I work for an organization that wants to do something about them. Something that will actually address the real issues behind them,” he grinned, his odd, thin mustache raising with his mouth.

And so it was another organization. This wasn't too unusual, Yasuko now assumed the man was simply pushy about his cause. There were all sorts of programs and organizations in this city for just about every cause one could think of. And they all seemed to have a desire to gain the Sato family's wealth in backing their goals. Depending upon what it was, Yasuko wasn't opposed to donating in theory. She just preferred they go through the proper channels, specifically the people she hired for this purpose so that she could actually have time to devote to other things. Namely Asami and her own hobbies like this gala.

“Ah. Well, I do have someone who handles donations-”

“I'm not talking about donations. I'm talking about a partnership. My employer has a goal for this city. He wants to address the inequality many people in Republic City face everyday. People like you and your family who had no defense against the triads who broke into your home and attacked your husband. Mrs. Sato, the triads aren't the only people hurting others in the city,” he told her seriously.

Yasuko was irritated at being interrupted. This man was beating around the bush, she wanted him to get to the point so that she could direct him to her public resources division. There were other guests to entertain and it had been some time since she had checked in on Asami.

“I do not know what you're referring to, Mr….”

The man did not offer his name, something that only added on to her already bad feeling for him.

“My name isn't important. I'm referring to the Equalists. There are many people in this city who believe it is time to stop benders from abusing their power. It has been seven years since your husband's attack and the police are no closer to destroying the Agni Kais. I would think that's more than a little suspicious,” he elaborated.

“I don't think I like you trying to use my husband to appeal to my emotions,” Yasuko told him irritably.

“This is more than an appeal to your emotions. I'm talking about putting benders in their place. Think of him and your daughter. How long will it take before someone else attacks them? Or you? Mrs. Sato, with Future Industries, you could help us put an end to bender violence once and for all. They have power that should have never been given to people, it's only ever caused harm, wars, suffering. My employer knows what your husband is going through, he's suffered a similar injury. He doesn't want anyone else to go through what he and Mr. Sato have had to experience.”

Yasuko could hear his words, as well as the meaning behind them. She could see what he was actually talking about behind his eyes. They were almost electric blue, distinct and easy to read. There was a hardness there that made her uncomfortable. They gleamed as he spoke of 'putting benders in their place.' Frankly, it made her uncomfortable. There were plenty of benders that were not at all responsible for what happened to Hiroshi. The police had caught the man who was ultimately responsible for burning him and he was now in prison.

And then there were benders like Asami, perfectly aware of just what bending could do to others. She was so ashamed of what had happened to her father, that for some reason the girl was essentially blaming herself for what happened. It was something Yasuko was trying to help her heal from. She was terrified of hurting someone like Hiroshi had been. Not old enough to realize that bending wasn't anything to be afraid of after witnessing the destruction and pain the Agni Kais had inflicted that night. Asami's trauma had been allowed to fester and Yasuko wasn't sure what could be done to change that or if she could have done more to prevent it in the first place.

This man had no idea what they were going through. He did not know of Asami's nightmares over firebending. He didn't know how hard it was to visit Hiroshi at times. Yet he was trying to take advantage of their pain. It was disgusting and she honestly wanted him out of her house.

“I think you and I have very different ideas on how to help the city. I don't care for your cause. Do not speak of my family again, you know nothing of what they're going through,” she told him coldly.

“I apologize if what I said has upset you, Mrs. Sato. I only want to help you and everyone else in the city. Benders need-”

“No, that's exactly what we disagree on. I will not stoop to the triads' level, attacking innocent people because of what one man decided to do. I prefer to _help_ people and I absolutely refuse to believe any nonsense about benders being responsible for what happened to my husband. The very notion is ludicrous and you insult my family by trying to use him to take advantage of the company _he_ founded. I think I would prefer that you leave,” Yasuko snapped.

She was tired of this conversation. This man had the gall to assume he knew how she felt about benders and approached her in her own home, _the very place the attack had happened_ , using her husband and child as negotiating tools in order to access Future Industries.

What did he want with the company to begin with? By all means, it would probably be far easier trying to convince her to use the Sato wealth to fund what was beginning to sound like a radical social movement. The board, some members of which were benders, was not about to approve spending any finances on this man's insane Equalists. The only conclusion Yasuko could come to was that he wanted what the factories could produce for him and that wasn't an idea she liked.

“You're making a mistake, Mrs. Sato. The city needs to change. It needs equality for all citizens,” the man told her stubbornly.

“Not at the cost of others. I am not speaking of this any longer. I want you out of my house. Future Industries will not back the Equalists.”

The man stared at her for several moments, as if to make sure she was serious. It was making her angrier by the moment and it was at this time that she was wondering where on earth her house staff was. Finally, he nodded.

“Well, it's a shame that we won't be able to work together. I hope you end up changing your mind by the time we make the changes this city needs. The Equalists will one day be in charge of Republic City,” and with that, he spun on his heel and left.

* * *

The Equalists were something that Yasuko was determined to put from her mind, in fact after calming down from the whole insulting encounter, she had mostly forgotten about them. Only considering them a particularly humorless joke until she started reading about them in the paper. It seemed the cause had garnered some support after all, though it seemed to only come from some vocal protesters in the city park. Yasuko hoped that it stayed that way.

She had much more on her mind. It had been close to four years since that gala. Hiroshi was finally able to live at home again. He had been haunted by what had happened that night, suffering mental trauma along with his physical injuries. Asami had been able to design a much more feasible prosthesis for him this past year and he had excelled at his physical therapy. But it was his mind that was the real problem.

Hiroshi suffered from living nightmares. It was something that made him almost dangerous to live alongside with and it broke her and Asami's hearts. He was wasn't often cruel, but he struggled to live in the present. He was worried that he would slip away at the wrong moment. Driving, something that was almost required at Future Industries considering it's focus on vehicles, was impossible. Many days he would prefer to simply stay in bed and sleep, and on particularly bad days, he would take his anger and frustration out on her or sometimes even Asami. They both realized that he could not live at home. Hiroshi refused to allow himself an opportunity to act abusive towards them on any regular basis, opting to stay in treatment until he could finally trust himself.

According to his therapists, that day was today. They felt confident that her husband had largely gotten over his trauma. It was honestly amazing to Yasuko. Even a year ago, she would have never been able to anticipate his almost miraculous change and effort he put into his recovery. She and Asami were supposed to meet at the hospital to bring him home, where they would have a small celebration as a family. Something they all realized they haven't had in eleven years.

But Asami was not here and that had been an increasing pattern for the past several months.

“I'm sorry, Hiroshi. I have no idea what she's been doing,” Yasuko told her husband. She was beginning to feel angry with their daughter. At first she was disappointed. Asami knew how much her father looked forward to seeing her, especially now that he was having so many good days, yet she was becoming far less reliable. She wouldn't tell them what she was doing and no amount of forced leave from the company was forcing her to talk either. Yasuko was almost forced to give up if she wanted to keep Future Industries best interests in mind as well as the fact that grounding Asami didn't seem to affect anything. Otherwise she would have disregarded the company entirely.

Hiroshi only sighed. Yasuko swore the man seemed to have infinite patience when it came to Asami.

“She'll turn up sooner or later, she always does,” he grinned gently.

“Hiroshi, please stop excusing her. She knew how important this was to you, I have no idea what's been going through her mind lately,” Yasuko said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Probably some sort of amazing invention. At her age, the only thing I wanted to do was draw blueprint after blueprint for this stubborn vehicle that wouldn't leave my head.”

“I doubt this she's working on something to top the Satomobile. Sweetie, I'm worried about her. I've been trying to find out what she's been doing. I know she's not at the factory and she's not in the workshop, either. If she's working on some new development for the company, then I have no idea where she's been going to do it. Asami's not been seen at the track often either,” she told him concernedly.

“Then she's being a teenager. I don't think this is anything we need to worry too much about, Yasuko. She probably wants to do other things than concern herself with me. I know I've taken more of both of your time than I should have, if things were different,” Hiroshi smiled self-deprecatingly.

And this is exactly why Yasuko had wanted their daughter to realize that she needed to be here. The last thing Hiroshi needed was to believe that he was a burden. Asami's behavior was not helping in that endeavor. Teenager, genius inventor or not, Yasuko was going to find some way to convince the girl to be more considerate than she's been acting.

Fortunately for her sake, Asami was waiting for them when they arrived home. It wasn't what they agreed on, but it was far better than showing up hours late like she had been. Yasuko had been willing to let the matter go for this night, at the very least, but that was before she noticed her daughter's face.

This was the third time Asami has come home with some kind of injury since that first time four months ago, this time sporting a rapidly darkening black eye, the time before that a recently healed broken arm, and before that cracked ribs.

“That's it, I'm selling it!” Yasuko said angrily. Not even allowing Asami to try to explain to her how safe that cursed motorcycle was supposed to be. By all means, the stupid thing was apparently a complete failure if it constantly resulted in her daughter hurting herself whether because she rode it into the boroughs or because she had crashed on it, Yasuko didn't care anymore.

“What?! Mom, no, it's not that bad! I was only-”

“I don't want to hear it anymore, Asami. I don't know how many times I've told you not to take it off the track! You're determined to be stupid on it, so I'm getting rid of it,” she snapped.

“Then I'll build a new one,” Asami retorted angrily.

“Young lady, I _will_ tear down that workshop if that's what it takes to keep you from breaking your neck.”

Honestly, Yasuko entirely failed to see the appeal of a motorcycle. It may as well have been a death trap to her. Of course, anything mechanical and fast utterly captivated Asami. It was the one thing that she was determined to be stubborn over, aside from her recent flighty behavior of late. Asami was usually so even tempered and reasonable, Yasuko sometimes wondered if she even had a teenage daughter. Unfortunately, she just happened to pick a hobby that scared her mother to death and was absolutely committed on keeping. Yasuko liked to think she would be more open minded over the subject if her daughter would stop coming home and explaining to her that it was only a _little_ crash, she wasn't _that_ hurt and that Yasuko didn't have to worry. Apparently she did.

Asami made to retort, but Hiroshi suddenly spoke up beside her.

“All right, that's enough. I don't want to spend my first day home fighting over a motorcycle of all things. We will talk about this later,” he said firmly. “Asami, go get cleaned up.”

To her credit, Asami did look guilty when she was reminded of exactly what this day was supposed to be.

“Dad, I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean to be late and if I worried you both, then I'm sorry about that too.”

“We'll talk about that later,” Hiroshi repeated. “I only want to spend the rest of the day with you both.”

Yasuko waited for Asami to leave the parlor before turning to her husband.

“I'm sorry too, Hiroshi. I've been more than a little stressed and I let Asami get to me more than I probably should have.”

“Oh, no, I think you have a point now,” her husband said thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I think you've been right to worry. I've never seen any of Asami's injuries after she supposedly crashed her motorcycle. How did you say she dislocated her shoulder again?”

“Apparently a triad member tried to mug her while she was riding through the boroughs. On the motorcycle,” Yasuko said wryly. “But what are you getting at? You don't think she's been crashing it?”

“I worked with the first prototypes of the Satocycle. I remember how some of the engineers looked like after crashing them in the first tests. Their injuries were like a rash, from rubbing across the road. Asami's eye looked just like someone had hit her. I also remember what a black eye looks like, don't forget that I grew up in the boroughs,” Hiroshi told her.

“So, she's been lying to us,” Yasuko observed.

“It seems so.”

Neither of them said anything more, opting to wait for their daughter to return. Yasuko was certain that Hiroshi was on the same page as she was. That their daughter was lying to them about something that she was certain they wouldn't like. The only thing left was to figure out just _what_ in the world the girl was doing instead of acting like a daredevil on a death trap. Something that was far easier said than done, from Yasuko's experience. To be honest, she was at a bit of a loss on what to do with her. She only hoped that Hiroshi had some ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, Asami didn't have time to visit a healer this time. It occurred to me that it's a *massive* trope with superheroes in comics that teenage superheroes have the absolute, most oblivious parents/guardians that have ever lived. It's a wonder that their hair doesn't catch fire because I don't think they'd notice. So, Hiroshi's a smart guy, despite his tendency to be a racist asshole and I don't think Yasuko would be much different. Well, aside from not being a racist asshole. Of course, the fact that they know something's super fishy with Asami isn't going to change much of the absolutely awesome angst I have planned for them all.
> 
> Yasuko was fun to write. I wanted to write another chapter from her point of view since the first chapter of EoL, and to be honest I really needed to get into her head so that I wouldn't write her as "cliche, sweet Mom #3410." That and I wanted to give her some spot light for some parallels I have planned between her and Hiroshi, so tell me what you guys think. :D
> 
> Next chapter will be in Asami's point of view more than likely. I need to give out more of her motivations so she doesn't seem like a huge jerk like this chapter seems to have painted her as. Also, can you guys guess who the Equalist trying to recruit Yasuko was? I hope so, I'm not great at describing people, as I said. I did give him away on my Tumblr. Speaking of which, if you want to check that out (it is going to be full of chapter musings that I will and have posted for my followers' input, commentary on my fics and some rare deleted scenes) it's at blueraith.tumblr.


	4. Crash

Asami knew after the day her father came home that she could know longer afford to assume that her parents would blissfully accept her cover stories on merit alone. In fact, they actually seemed to become even more suspicious of her whereabouts and actions. It was horrendously inconvenient. More than that, though, it was clear that she was stressing her parents out. Asami didn't think there was much she could about that. Not unless she stopped her little community project and that was the last thing she wanted.

She knew she needed her own space to suit her purposes, one that stood a near absolute zero chance that her parents would find and it needed to be hidden in a place that was probable she'd actually be. The workshop behind the mansion was the easiest solution. What was an absolute pain, though, was building what she had in mind. Asami had the money from her trust fund, and it wasn't an insignificant amount by any stretch of the imagination, it was just using it in a manner that wouldn't gain her parents' attention. Indeed, the construction would have to be absolutely hidden as well. It was ridiculously expensive in the end, but she finally decided the best course of action was to build from the mountains toward the workshop and then construct the tunnel up through the floor, rather than the other way around. At least the project was completed faster than she would have expected. It seemed money could help that issue as well.

It was where she was now. Asami had slowly moved nearly all of her Satocycles here, only trusting a couple to be safe in the workshop after her mother had threatened to sell them. Unfortunately, she had to keep at least one in there or the garage so as not to arouse too much suspicion, or at least more than she had already garnered. She knew she was walking a very tight rope as far as they were concerned. In fact, the breakfast they were currently eating was rather tense, with her parents exchanging looks that Asami wasn't particularly comfortable with.

Thus far, the morning really wasn't going in her favor. Even the newspaper was out to get her.

'Inferno Burns Triads,' it read. Asami couldn't possibly think of a worse name than that.

“Asami,” her mother finally ventured. “There's something your father and I wanted to talk to you about.”

She returned the newspaper to the table and tried to believe that what they were about to tell her wouldn't be bad news. She didn't succeed.

“What is it?”

Her father cleared his throat. “We've noticed that you've been preoccupied of late. We've been concerned. We don't know what you've been doing, and you refuse to tell us. Not only that but we think it, whatever this is, might be a detriment to the company.”

“A detriment…? What are you talking about? I've met every deadline, lead research and development to completely surpass Cabbage Corp. and I've made sure my division has been never been in the red! What are you getting at?” Asami asked incredulously. This seemed like it was coming out of nowhere. She wondered if this was more of a parenting decision than anything else and if so, then she thought that was nonsense.

Her mother sighed. “Asami, I don't think your head has been where it should be lately. Yes, you've achieved all of those things, but you're also late to work, worker morale has dropped and frankly you're looking more and more exhausted. We've been concerned for your health more than the state of the company and the last think I want is you falling ill because you're taking on more responsibility than you should.”

“I'm fine! This is-This is ridiculous!” Asami exclaimed angrily. She knew she was going against her parents' wishes lately, but it wasn't as if she was doing anything to put the company in danger. Also, her parents could definitely be workaholics themselves. Her mother may not devote all of her time to the company like her father did, but she definitely spent a large amount of her time with her charities. Asami didn't figure that she was acting all that differently.

“No it's not!” Hiroshi finally snapped. “I'm tired of seeing you this way. Asami, you may inherit Future Industries one day, but that does not mean I ever intended you to become so involved with the company as quickly as you have. I wanted you to have a chance to actually enjoy your youth and as far as I am concerned, you aren't. Effective immediately, I will be heading Research and Development. You will return to the position of one of the senior engineers.”

Asami regarded them both in silence. They didn't appear like they were going to change their minds anytime soon if her father's angry face and her mother's serious expression were any indication. There was no point in arguing and she knew it would only make them more sure in their decision if she tried. Still, this stung and Asami figured they'd been talking about this for a while. She wasn't sure why now was the time to demote her, anyway. She'd gotten very good at balancing her… hobby and her job as far as she was concerned. Apparently she hadn't been good enough.

“Fine,” she snapped as she stood up suddenly, no longer remotely hungry. “I'm going out.”

If her parents made any indication that they wanted her to stay home, Asami didn't hear. She had already left the room. At least there was still her patrol to look forward to, it would be nice to introduce some sense into any triad members she found today.

It didn't take long to get to the workshop; she was eager to get out today. The switch for the secret tunnel she installed was along one of her junk shelves. Asami figured no one would ever have reason to look there, it was where she kept spent and broken parts. It was truly a shame that they had demoted her like this. Asami had been working on a brand new invention for the past year that she was sure would keep Future Industries comfortably on top for some time to come. She had almost been ready to submit the final blueprints to her parents. She'd still submit them when the time came, of course, it would be unprofessional otherwise, but this move had struck a sour cord within her and whatever inspiration she had for today had been effectively snuffed.

Instead, she gathered her disguise in the satchel she always carried and straddled the innocent looking Satocycle waiting in the open concept room. It was large; Asami made sure she'd have plenty of room for training dummies, workout gear, her vehicles and the new invention. In fact, at the moment, the room seemed to be underutilized it was so large. Still, Asami figured it was probably better to oversize just in case something came up later instead of finding it was too small.

The motorcycle appeared like any other mid-range Satocycle sold to the average citizen. It was even painted an inconspicuous gray color, the last thing Asami needed was the police gaining anything remotely remarkable about her appearance when she made her getaways. However, the engine within was anything but average. It was one she had improved upon significantly and although it pained her to stifle progress, Asami had neglected to submit this engine's particular plans to the company. The last thing she needed was her mother selling vehicles with the improved specs on the road and having to deal with triads getting their hands on them or competing with the police. Perhaps she would release them once she had thought of something better down the road.

It took no time at all to fire the bike up and ride out through the tunnel she had excavated out towards the mountains. While there was only one tunnel that lead from under the workshop to this secret base, Asami had two dug out on the other side. Originally, she had only the one that lead into the mountains so that she could stage the proper equipment and the people she needed without her parents finding out. However, she soon determined that driving into the city from the mountains wasted unnecessary time. So, she created a second branch that opened up onto a simple dirt road that then lead to the main street back into Republic City. From there, it was easy enough to get into the boroughs.

When she had first started her vigilantism, Asami had naively thought that she would be able to spot triad activity in any direction she looked. Of course, for the most part, the triads seemed to be careful with what they did during the day. It seemed that even though they had the run of the city, they still didn't want to act ridiculously blatant most of the time for fear of embarrassing the police too much and inviting stings. Granted, this was the case for the more intelligent and powerful members of the different triads. One didn't become a career gangster by being entirely stupid, Asami had to suppose.

And then there were the other type of triad enforcers. The stupid, brutish kind.

There were three of them, each in different colors and trying to intimidate a phonograph shopkeeper. This was so oddly reminiscent of Asami's first fight a year ago that she was almost unsure whether this was happening right now. There were a few key differences though. The triad goons were all in different colors, suggesting that they were Triple Threats. The second difference was the much more important and interesting one, however. Because of her initial hesitation, another person seemed to be stepping up to defend the poor shop owner from the triad's brutality. A young, Water Tribe girl at first glance. Only, that glance soon lead to something much more surprising.

Asami had thought that the poor girl was going to be utterly annihilated by the men she was challenging. Not that she thought the Triple Threat goons would be particularly good benders, but because of what she had seen with her own eyes in the boroughs. There weren't a lot of people here that could afford any formal training in this area of the city what with it being inhabited by the more unfortunate citizens of the city. This was why Asami patrolled it to begin with. She knew she could make the most of her skills here. At any rate, there were benders here, but they often didn't know what to do with their own talents. The really good benders were often 'conscripted' by one of the triads either by force or by tempting some very poor kids with money to help support their families. The benders that were left didn't have much to claim in terms of skill.

And then the strange girl proved her completely and hopelessly wrong.

One by one, she dispatched each with almost ruthless efficiency with _three different elements._ The Avatar. That was the only answer, and she was a very good bender in all of the elements she had displayed, there was simply no contest. Asami couldn't believe that the other two Triple Threats had the stupidity to charge the Avatar after seeing their waterbending leader so easily dispatched. She was especially flabbergasted that the firebender had decided fighting the master of all elements after seeing her earthbend right in front of him. Truly, these criminals were utterly dumb.

And they seemed to _finally_ realize that they were completely outclassed and decided to retreat. This was where Asami finally decided to act. She never really cared whether any of the triads she attacked got away. That wasn't what she focused on, she instead wanted to simply protect other people if she could. The police could pick up the trash later if they were so inclined. After all, she never really did know who was on the take anyway. Detaining these people on her end was a completely useless effort. They always got out in the end. So, she contented herself with beating the stuffing out of all of them when she could.

The Avatar did not know this, and Asami could see the wheels in her head turning as she went to stop their car from fleeing. It would be a useless gesture and one that would probably only cause collateral damage to the area surrounding them. Shops that were already being threatened to begin with. It would be completely pointless to stop the Triple Threats if the Avatar was only going to finish their job for them accidentally.

Fortunately, she had already flipped her riding jacket inside out before leaving the house. It was a simple black thing with no adorning features. Asami didn't think it would be prudent to have the Future Industries cogs on her shoulder pads to be photographed by a nosy reporter and end up under a headline about her more illegal hobby. It was an easy movement to slip her goggled hood over her head, it was something she had actually practiced in front of her bathroom mirror. Asami thought she should _probably_ be able to cover her face in seconds if need be.

What was not easy was swinging a startled Avatar onto the seat of her Satocycle behind her while a shocked polar-bear dog yelped and took off after them. Asami had never seen anything like the animal and she hoped that the Avatar would call the thing off after she explained a few things to the obvious newcomer.

“Hey! What- _who are you?!”_ The Avatar asked in alarm and Asami could practically feel her summon fire in her fist in order to knock her off her motorcycle.

“I want to help you. There are several things you should know before trying to take on the triads. Starting with _not_ wrecking up the shops of the people you're trying to help,” Asami answered drily. They had to shout over the engine's noise, but they could hear each other well enough.

“What? I was trying to help those people! I wasn't like those hoodlums back there,” she huffed back in annoyance, oddly stifling the fire she had summoned. Apparently she was going to take Asami at her word. For now.

“I could see that,” Asami conceded. “But, you were going to rip up the street trying to stop those guys. And who knows where their car could have ended up at I had let you. Trust me, trying to arrest these guys is pointless. The Triple Threats would pay their bond and bribe everyone involved in the investigation,” she finished bitterly.

“Okay, who are you? Why are you wearing that weird hood thing? And why are you acting like you do this every weekend or something?” the Avatar fired out.

Asami sighed. She actually didn't really know how to explain what she did for another person. This was the first time she had done something like this. Usually, Asami would have simply stopped someone from taking on the triads and getting themselves needlessly beaten, putting herself in the way and neutralizing them herself and then leaving before the hapless interloper knew what happened. In this case, the Avatar had entirely beat her to the punch and handily taken care of the problem and now she was riding through the streets behind Asami, who was driving probably a _little_ too fast than was strictly warranted, but she didn't want to take the chance of the police getting an idea of their location if they were on the lookout.

“I'm… I don't- my name's not important,” Asami dismissed. Ignoring the fact that she had never really taken the time to name her… other identity. There just never seemed to be a good time, there were other things for her to do, like actually stopping some criminals from setting someone on fire or something, or making sure her parents didn't get too close to the truth. She knew she hated what the newspapers usually named her, but it wasn't like she spent any significant time thinking up alternatives.

“Anyway, I spend my time helping the city against the triads. I wear this because they like to retaliate against people that are brave enough to stand up to them. I don't want anyone in my real life getting hurt. And yes. I do this just about every weekend,” Asami chuckled.

It was really no good. They were attracting _far_ too much attention with the polar-bear dog snarling furiously behind them.

“Can you call off your… dog?” Asami asked uncertainly. “It's scaring people.”

“Well, what do you expect? Naga's my best friend, she's not gonna react well when someone snatches me off the street,” Korra retorted. “Just stop for a second so I can talk to her.”

“You aren't going to run off?” Asami asked her warily. She still wanted to talk to the Avatar. She didn't want her to go off and wreck someone's livelihood in an overexcited attempt to save them.

“ _No.”_

Asami pulled into a darker alleyway. Hopefully they could speak privately here. Naga stormed in after them and the Avatar had to put herself between them to keep the furious animal from snapping at Asami.

“Naga! Down, girl, it's okay! I don't think she's gonna hurt us. She just came about all this kinda dumb,” she soothed as she petted the giant dog's nose in a placating manner. It looked almost ridiculous and Asami had to keep herself from retorting that the Avatar wasn't exactly acting intelligently either.

“Okay, so what did you want so badly that you had to kidnap me for?” the Avatar huffed.

“I didn't _kidnap_ you. I think you could have left any time you wanted,” Asami countered. “You're the Avatar, after all. At any rate, I _wanted_ to tell you to not to make things worse for these people. I know you probably mean well, but the last thing the people in this part of the city need is a 'savior' that's as bad as the triads are. Their shops get wrecked, houses burned down and they and their families can be killed just for looking at someone the wrong way here. Make things better for them, not worse,” she finished.

At first, the Avatar looked like she wanted to argue more, but then Asami's words seemed to sink in.

“I… Okay, I guess I don't know much about this city. I just got here today, I really didn't think things were so bad here. I thought people lived it up in the city. I just saw those guys picking on that poor man and I had to do something. Sometimes I don't… always think things through,” the Avatar admitted.

Asami was struck then by the fact that the Avatar was a person just like anyone else. A young person around her age, in fact.

“What's your name?” Asami asked curiously.

“Hey, I asked you first,” the Avatar said indignantly. It was actually kind of… cute the way her brow furrowed in annoyance.

“Well- ah, the thing is. I don't really have one?” Asami tried to explain but she knew she was coming off completely awkwardly. “Look, I don't exactly have a convenient title like 'The Avatar' to use as a public relations tool,” she said defensively.

“Really?” the Avatar asked as she smirked. “Didn't I see you in the paper this morning? Are you sure it isn't 'Inferno'?”

“ _No!_ It's not _Inferno_ of all things!” Asami snapped back. “That's horrible, I don't know who the Republic Times paid to write that, but they should seriously reconsider their rate.”

“Okay, okay, I didn't think you'd be so touchy over it,” the Avatar laughed. “I'm Korra, if that makes you feel better.”

“I'm not 'touchy',” she tried to argue, but Asami knew she probably cared about it more than she should. Still, she had to admit it was a _little_ funny. Just a little.

“Just be more careful out here. I can't say it wouldn't be helpful to have the Avatar around to scare some of these idiots straight, but you aren't going to be of much help if you go about this carelessly,” Asami told her.

“Well, actually, I am just here to get Tenzin to train me in airbending. It's the last element I need to master. I… um, may have been lost when I stumbled on to those guys,” Korra admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.

“You nearly ripped up a city block because you got lost trying to get to Air Temple Island?” Asami asked incredulously. “Korra, it's located in the bay! You can't possibly miss it,” she laughed.

“Yeah? I got a name at least,” Korra sniffed.

“Alright, alright. How about I give you directions?” she offered. “Will it make up for 'kidnapping' you?” she teased.

“Hmph. Maybe.”

So she did. Korra seemed to get them well enough and Asami hoped she would get to her destination without much more incident. It seemed the Avatar was a little more innocent than she would have expected and that was kind of interesting. She wondered why Korra was this way.

“So, am I gonna see you around?” Korra asked as she mounted Naga, who was still eying Asami reproachfully.

“Probably. I'll have to clean up your messes, right?” Asami smirked.

“What? As if. I'd like to see you fight sometime, Miss No-name. See if you're as good as you claim.”

“I think I'd like that. We should spar sometime. See if the Avatar can keep up.”

“Oh, you are so on. I'll see when I can get away from my training and I'll track you down,” Korra promised heatedly.

With that, she rode off into the street, her voice fading in the distance as she apologized to pedestrians. Apparently there were no roads where Korra came from.

Asami shook her head in exasperation as she fired up her Satomobile again, removing her hood and switching her jacket back to it's regular, cogged state. It felt good to have her hair free again as it whipped behind her. She was wondering whether it would be productive to go into the office today, but then she remembered that her parents had fired her again. Korra had managed to entirely distract her from her terrible morning. Asami didn't quite know why. Rather, she did, it was just a little surprising to admit.

It wasn't as though Asami wasn't aware of who and what she was attracted to. She just didn't expect to have a _small_ crush on the Avatar of all people. She was practically flirting with her the entire time. Asami figured it was probably the biggest cliché in history to be attracted to the Avatar, one of the most powerful people in the world. How many other people were going to have that reaction? Who's to say Korra would even have a crush on her in return? Asami thought it probably better to forget about it and move on. Her father was probably going to expect her to show up to report to him eventually.

And that was when she slammed into a wall of white fur. The wall in question yelping in fear and Asami flopped right over her handle bars and slid rather painfully across the road. She could barely believe it. All of those times lying to her mother about crashing her motorcycle, yet in reality having a perfect record on the vehicle, the day she gets through a patrol injury free and she _actually_ crashes. If her mother wasn't going to be absolutely furious when she got home, Asami thought this would actually be pretty hilarious.

“Hey! What's your problem?” an all too familiar voice shouted reproachfully. “Naga, are you alright?” Korra asked her friend in dismay.

Asami could see Naga shake her coat from where she landed in front of her. The dog was upside down from her vantage point, snorting in irritation and looking at Asami as if she had just committed a grave sin. Asami wondered how one dog could be so expressive.

“Me?! Why are you streaking across traffic?! Are you _still_ lo- uh, I mean, don't you know where you're going?” Asami asked in disbelief. She had _just_ given Korra directions. How did she get lost again already?

She expected Korra to fire something back like she had been in the alley, but once she had painfully dusted herself off (she was going to be bruised all over, she just knew it) and looked at the Avatar, Korra was staring at her as if she couldn't believe she was there. Asami wondered if she had been wrong.

“I-um-uh… Hi,” Korra eventually settled on. “I-I mean, uh, sorry. I didn't see you there. Naga's not exactly used to traveling in the city. Are you okay?”

“I'll live,” Asami grimaced. She really wasn't used to this feeling. She decided she didn't like crashing at all. Why had she lied so much about it, again? Asami wondered if she had been too mean to her mother in scaring her like this all those times before. “And I wasn't paying too much attention either, to be fair. I've had a lot on my mind.”

“Tell me about it, you wouldn't believe the day I've had,” Korra snorted.

What was the harm in going for it? Probably nothing, if all else failed, Asami would probably be seeing Korra again as someone else anyway.

“Try me,” she offered. “I probably should have seen a giant, white polar-bear dog right in front of me, no matter how distracted I was,” Asami laughed. “I could take you out to lunch to make up for this, maybe get… Naga was it? I could get her something too.”

“Really?” Korra was blushing fiercely. “You'd do that for Naga too?”

“I did hit her, didn't I? It's the least I can do,” Asami smiled.

“Well, okay. Maybe you could show me the way to Air Temple Island after? I think I'm a little lost,” Korra admitted and Asami had to stifle the smile that wanted to come out as Korra's blush deepened.

“I'd be happy to.”

Asami wondered how her day had managed to turn out like this. She probably wouldn't make it into the office after all. She'd have to call her father to tell him. Hopefully her parents wouldn't be too upset, maybe she could convince them that she actually had been stressed after all and decided to take a mental health day. Whatever the case, she was going to turn her day around whether they liked it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Korra is finally here! :D Not much fighting in this chapter. To be honest, I wasn't too interested in reiterating a fight that takes place in canon. At least, not one with so little significance and it's not a very good one. Korra curbstomps some thugs, fun to watch, dull to write lol. So I focused on character interaction instead. Asami behind her mask has turned out to be a little more of a smart ass than I expected, but she was fun. I would think dressing up and beating the snot out of some bad guys is probably a booster shot to the confidence level, not that Asami really needed one in the first place so it's like a double shot for her. At any rate, the korrasami in this fic is certainly going to be interesting. I think I can already see how this is going to go. It's like it's going to be developing on two different levels for Asami's identities. It's going to be rad! :D
> 
> Asami's alter ego name. I have one. It's not the most creative, considering I've borrowed it from Bryke if you want a hint, but I'm not fantastic at naming things or people and the 'Inferno' joke was a reference to Danny Phantom (a cartoon I loved when I was a kid), a lampshade for the entire superhero genre and their corny naming habits in general, and a joke about my lack of creativity when it comes to naming shit all at once. There will probably be a few more of these littered through the fic.
> 
> I can't wait to get into what's coming next. Korrasami is only a piece of what this fic. I have plenty I want to get to with them, but first... something quite a bit different.


	5. Motive

Asami stormed from the room before either he or Yasuko could say anything more. Hiroshi knew she would be upset, but he knew this was for the best. For both his daughter and the plans he had for Future Industries. Asami truly was under too much stress. She needed more time for herself and whatever it was that she was doing. He and Yasuko were both very concerned about what she was keeping from them, but at this point, there was no forcing Asami into revealing her secret, they had tried so hard already.

"That went about as well as I expected," Yasuko said and sighed.

"We couldn't leave things as they were," Hiroshi responded and tried to get back to his breakfast. He didn't have much of an appetite today, but he knew that Yasuko would be upset if he didn't make an effort.

"I know, and I hope that Asami will realize that there are consequences to secrets now, but I still didn't particularly enjoy this. Despite what we told her, she was doing well running the department, she just wasn't giving it as much attention as it deserved."

"And that's fine. I can give it what it needs. Asami can concentrate on what she wishes to now. Besides, I truly did not like seeing her running R&D so early. She is too young," Hiroshi said decisively.

"She is eighteen, Hiroshi. If she wasn't doing… whatever it is she's hiding, then I think she would have been even more successful than she was," Yasuko pointed out.

Hiroshi did not agree. He might have started the company as early as he could, but that did not mean Asami needed to follow his footsteps in this way. There were so many ways that she was forced to grow up too early, and he didn't want to help her in that any more than he already had.

"Yes, she is eighteen. Let her have time to enjoy it."

"And if engineering is her choice? Hiroshi, she loves building things as much as you do. I didn't allow her to work for the company easily. She was determined to sneak her designs into the company and they somehow found their way onto my desk for years and I still don't know how she managed to do it for so long. I just… I know that this was the correct decision. However, I think we should give her time to adjust. As level headed as Asami _usually_ is, this decision has obviously upset her and I don't want her doing anything that she shouldn't in retaliation," his wife said as she worried her lip.

"You think she'll get worse?" He hadn't really thought of that possibility. He had hoped that this would actually get their daughter to calm down a little and probably distract herself with normal, teenaged things. Like dating, as much as he didn't really want to think about that, dating was _probably_ safer than what she was doing in the boroughs. If she got even more active… hopefully after he did what he had to, then he could focus more of his attention to Asami and help her with what she was bothered with.

"I'm just keeping the possibility in mind. I just feel like I'm not trying as hard I can. I've been the one watching her for years, and I'm sorry to put it this way, Hiroshi, but I feel like I should have noticed her change so much. This feels like it came so suddenly and I think that I should have noticed _something_. I hate having her come home injured or distracted and I can't do anything about it," Yasuko said as she rubbed her temples.

He would have to speak with Asami alone about this. He did not like seeing his wife this way, frustrated and upset. There was a time when his daughter held onto his every word, but Hiroshi couldn't help thinking that perhaps that time has long passed. He didn't know when, it could have happened soon after his attack, when she had seen what those benders had done to him. Or it could have been after he started to turn her and Yasuko away. Did she resent him for that? He didn't know and he hoped that he could fix it one day. Once things were made better, maybe his family would get better as well.

The Equalists would make so many things better. He was certain of that. It was time for true equality. That had been stripped from him long ago. His family was still trying to desperately heal from what had happened that night. It was something he was reminded of everyday. Asami and Yasuko had left him behind in so many ways, ways that they didn't notice or mean to have done. It wasn't something he blamed them for, they couldn't help it. However, there were still people responsible for this. They were the ones that had put him in the hospital for so long to begin with. He didn't know if he would ever recover until they had made contact with him.

Hiroshi knew that he would not be able to speak of it with Yasuko. Not right now, at any rate. Amon had told him of what his wife had said to his lieutenant. She didn't understand their movement. And that was fine, she hadn't been the one who had lost as much as he had. There were some things that she would never be able to truly relate to. Once their mission was completed, she would understand. Until then, Yasuko could not know. The truth would probably cause her too much stress than she needed to deal with.

It had taken him several days to come to this conclusion, though. He couldn't believe that she hadn't been able to think of him when she had turned them down. Hiroshi still remembered how shocked he had been when Amon himself had appeared in his supposedly private room. Clearly he had paid someone in the hospital off, there was simply no way his mask went completely unnoticed in the hallways.

"Who are you?" Hiroshi had asked harshly. He hadn't wanted visitors that day. This was after Asami had told him that she was working on a better prosthesis for his leg. She was so confident that he would be able to get around better with what she had in mind and she didn't understand that he could barely gather the energy to sit up in bed everyday. It was simply exhausting and only served to remind him that Asami was growing up without him. She wasn't the little girl ruining various devices in the mansion any more.

"A possible business partner," was all the mask had said. The man was very tall and his voice was very unique and striking. Hiroshi hadn't heard another one like it before or since.

"'Business partner?' I don't know who you are, but I doubt you're anyone I would want to do business with if you don't even know that my wife is the head of Future Industries these days," Hiroshi had answered bitterly.

"I admit that we had tried going to her first. However, Mrs. Sato was not in the position to realize the true value of our cause."

"Yasuko is a very bright woman, if she was not interested, than I probably won't be either. Insulting my wife's intelligence is hardly a way to get into my good graces."

"That isn't the case at all," the man said as he sat in one of the chairs next to his bed. Hiroshi could hardly believe the man's arrogance. "Mrs. Sato simply doesn't understand. I am not insulting her at all. Not many people have suffered the same ways that we have, Mr. Sato. It was my mistake to go to her first, I admit that I probably upset her, and I apologize for that."

"What did you do to her?!" Hiroshi snarled. He tried to reach for his call button, but the masked man had moved it out of his reach.

"Please, Mr. Sato. I promise that I'm not here to harm you. Once you have listened to what I have to say, then I will leave peaceably. Your wife did not come to any harm. This happened about four years ago. She probably did not mention it to you because she didn't want to upset you, if that makes you feel better."

It truly didn't.

"I would appreciate it if you got to the point. Perhaps by starting with who you are," Hiroshi said angrily.

"My name is Amon. I am the head of an organization that desires equality for all. My organization wants to address the way this city had been granting more rights to certain citizens over others.”

Hiroshi wasn't expecting him to remove his mask. He had thought that this… Amon had wanted to keep his identity hidden so that he would be unable to be identified by police when Hiroshi inevitably reported him. Along with whoever had helped this intruder get access to his room. Honestly, he doubted the 'Equalists'' wealth had anything on his own, the police were unlikely to be bribed away from this incident.

However, the reason behind the mask soon became apparent and quite literally so. Amon's face was covered in ugly burn scars, similar to the ones that covered Hiroshi's body and he was suddenly a little more open to what this man had to say.

“Like you, I have also lost my family to a firebender,” Amon said quietly. “I can never get mine back, but we still have a chance to save yours, Mr. Sato, as well as anyone else in this city just barely hanging on under the oppression of the bending tyranny. We need your help, we need what your company can do.”

“I don't understand,” Hiroshi said in confusion. “What are you planning to do? How could I possibly help? I have told you already that I have no control over my company any more. Those _firebenders_ took my career away from me,” he said through clenched teeth.

“What I am planning is simple. The Equalists will gain control of this city, force the government to become more fair to the needs of non-benders and to stop the blatant control the bending triads have over it. We will make bending illegal. It has been the cause of the world's pain and there's no reason for any single man or woman to have such power in the palms of their hands.

“What we need you for,” Amon said as he returned his mask to its place, “is to recover. I have reviewed your medical files, Mr. Sato, please forgive me for my intrusion, but I must keep my cause first and foremost in my mind. It is simply too important. You are holding yourself back. I understand why, the pain you are going to is nothing to be dismissed. However, _you_ can help me make the world as it should be. We could get make certain that your family will be safe forever, that nothing like this can happen to you or to them ever again. Your wife does not understand where I am coming from. You must be the one to make things right if she will not. In order to do that, you must become well enough to take control of Future Industries back. The Equalists need your engineering expertise.”

“I- I don't know. You must understand that simply saying all of this to me cannot make me better!” Hiroshi protested, ignoring Amon's blatant invasion of his privacy in favor of what the man was telling him. This all seemed too good to be true. There simply _couldn't_ be a movement to dislodge the bending elite. Who in their right mind would go along with this? The benders were too powerful, they had the control over the government, they paid the police off, and they had the most dangerous criminals. Before Future Industries, the vast majority of them even had a better job than him simply because they could control an element. Who could actually have a chance to stand up to them?

“I don't see how you can even succeed,” Hiroshi told him glumly.

“This will not be easy, what I have planned has been years in the making and will take several more years before I can even openly act. Mr. Sato, I will not lie to you, my plans are contingent on the support I can gather for my cause. Yours is critically important. You are one of the most intelligent men in your industry and you have a motivation to join me. Your work ethic far surpasses your nearest competitor and for those reasons, you are the perfect partner. If the Equalists can get the supplies we need, then we will be that much closer in succeeding.

“Not everyone in this city has forgotten what you have been forced to go through. Join us and you'll see just how many people feel like they've been forced into a corner not of their own making.”

And he was stuck in a corner wasn't he? This wasn't what he wanted, for himself or his family. Yasuko and Asami were forced to visit him once a week, if he was even well enough to allow them that small grace, in a relatively small room where he was stuck in bed. He was a burden to them that they didn't deserve and it wasn't even because he had chosen this. _Benders_ had broken into his house just because they could, to take things that he had given everything that he had to earn and ultimately, that wasn't even what he was worried about. All he had wanted that night was to get his family out and they had _attacked_ them. If Hiroshi hadn't been in the position he had been, then he shuddered to think what could have happened to his wife and child. They could be _dead_ for all he knew and it made him absolutely sick.

“If… if I do this, my family can't know. I don't want them to be targets _ever_ again,” Hiroshi choked out.

“Of course. We will speak of specifics more later. For now, focus on your recovery. I will keep in touch,” and with that, Amon swept from the room. Hiroshi was left wondering if he was even here. Could there finally be something to hope for after all this time?

He had come such a long way since then. Hiroshi knew that his family had been amazed by his speedy recovery from that day forward. It certainly wasn't always easy, even with Asami's admittedly much improved prosthesis, the physical therapy was grueling and he still had his bad days. However, slowly yet surely, things became easier. He began to enjoy his life again, as amazing as that sounded. He could look at his family and see the future that they had once the Equalists helped make everything more equal for all of them instead of the past that had been ripped away from them by the Agni Kai Triad.

Ultimately, Hiroshi was glad he had made the effort. Now was the time to set their plans in motion. He was finally healthy enough to take an active role in the company. The board would protest him taking CEO from Yasuko immediately. Unfortunately, she was rather good at her job, but he could make the case that Asami was distracted. She certainly was, and Hiroshi felt that she could use the break. However, that didn't mean he couldn't spin this to his and the Equalists' advantage. At the end of the day, they needed technology more than wealth. Research and Development was the near perfect cover to get them what they needed. Asami was too concerned with her mysterious hobby to notice anything that might turn up 'missing' in an inventory count.

“Yasuko, everything will be fine. We'll get to the bottom of Asami's activities eventually and everything will turn out fine. For all we know, she might not even be doing the same thing anymore. She hasn't come home with any injuries in some time. Perhaps she's simply hiding a boy,” Hiroshi grinned at the thought. Asami didn't really have too much to fear from him unless the boy turned out to be a bender. She could do better than that. Yasuko was might even be the one who turned out to be hard on any potential suitors their daughter had. His wife could be a wild card in these matters.

Yasuko groaned. “Goodness, if Asami is making me worry this much over a _boy_ then she's going to be very sorry,” she still laughed and that told Hiroshi all he needed to know about how serious his wife actually was about that threat.

“You'd prefer her to be up to something worse?” he teased.

“Of course not, but Asami certainly should have more sense than to hide a boy, or even a girl, from us. I really wouldn't mind _that_ much unless they were some sort of criminal. Oh my, you don't think she could be dating someone with a track record do you?”

“Maybe she met them out in the boroughs while she was doing who knows what,” Hiroshi snorted. Honestly, he knew that they both seriously doubted Asami was hiding any sort of relationship. She simply wasn't the type to be that concerned about it. Knowing her, she'd probably boldly introduce any date she had to them, confident enough in herself not to care what anyone thought.

“I'm worried about her, Hiroshi. I want her to stop coming home with a black eye or cracked ribs. I don't know if anyone is hurting her and it's driving me crazy that anyone could be and she wouldn't tell us about it,” Yasuko said, diving back into her much more serious concerns. “I don't care that she's been fine these past several weeks, I know that she's still up to something.”

Perhaps it was time to get some lower level Equalists to check in on his daughter. Some days they were absolutely wanting for something to do, after all. It probably wouldn't take much to have a couple tail her and report back. It would put both his and Yasuko's minds to rest, at this point he didn't really care that Asami wanted her privacy. She was doing something dangerous and he'd be a terrible father indeed if he didn't do everything he could to put a stop to it. Although, he may have to wait to actually tell his wife what Asami was up to if he hoped to use her distraction to his advantage for the Equalists. Hiroshi hated that he had to make these choices, but he supposed it would be for the greater good.

“I know. I'll get to the bottom of it, don't worry.”

Soon, she wouldn't have anything to worry about any longer. Not about Asami, not about her triad victims and not about the city. He'd fix everything and their lives would be all the better for it, he was sure of it. He just needed a little more time, and then the Equalists would be everything they needed to be and it would be the benders who were backed into a corner this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the chapter I've really been looking forward to. It's something I had in mind since the very beginning of this fic, that Hiroshi's point of view would make a comeback, this time in far greater detail than a short one-shot length chapter, in order to mirror Asami's desires. What superhero story doesn't have the villain's point of view, I ask? It's my goal to make you all at the very least see Hiroshi as more than just a racist asshole. Despite the fact that he is one, ultimately the guy was trying to make the world better for the sake of his dead wife and his daughter. That's pretty tragic because he's become so deluded and hateful that he actually thinks they'd want this from him. Hopefully I succeed. Plus, it's super freaking fun to write the bad guy's point of view openly at odds against what the good guys want and desire, both sides thinking they know what the other believes in and does in their free time. The Sato family is chock full of secrets.


	6. Cheating

“So, let me get this straight. You came all the way to Republic City, far away from anyone you've ever known, or anything you've ever experienced, _and didn't bring any money,”_ Asami stated incredulously.

“Well, I mean, I've never really had much use of it before,” Korra said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. “The White Lotus or my parents have always made sure I'd have everything I'd need. I guess I left so suddenly that they assumed Master Katara had given me some or they probably wouldn't have let me leave the house.”

The concept was foreign to Asami. Certainly, her parents, mostly her mother for obvious reasons, made sure she was taken care of, but they also made sure she knew about personal finance. These past several years, she was finally permitted to manage her own account, much to her relief. It would be much, _much_ harder to do her work if her parents knew just how much money she was spending on 'mysterious' purchases. Still, it wasn't even the money that really had her confused. Korra had just literally relocated halfway around the world and all she seemed to have brought with her were a change of clothes and her polar bear-dog. That kind of lack of planning was simply unthinkable for her. Both in her professional life and her 'other' life.

Asami simply had never met someone so different than her and it was actually refreshing. Korra seemed to just _do_ things. Asami had taken three years to finally feel ready to take on the triads and then there were the many years before that where she had hidden from her bending. She wondered if Korra would have had the same issues as she did, or if she would have just jumped into walloping on triads without a second thought. Asami hoped Korra would keep her word and track her down later. She would have liked to simply ask her, but Asami didn't want to take that risk. Avatar or not, they didn't know each other _that_ well yet and Asami didn't want to risk any unnecessary attention getting back to her parents. Secrets always worked better when they were kept by one person, after all.

That said, it was harder to pretend she didn't already know who Korra was than she would have expected. Probably because she had no practice with directly interacting with people she already knew from both of her identities. She had no reason to meet her parents while in her disguise, just as she never had a reason to do the same with Chief Beifong as Asami Sato. Goodness, Asami didn't want to think about how her parents would react if she was ever arrested. That would probably be the final straw as far as they were concerned. Sometimes Asami wondered at what they must think she was doing in her spare time.

Korra ended up telling her who she was during their lunch, after Asami had taught her how to _properly_ travel in the city. A bit of a crash course in how roads worked. She was able to lead Korra to a relatively simple Water Tribe restaurant after that. Asami figured she would be a bit more comfortable here on her first day in the city. It was probably a very good choice, Korra was much more fun to be around than she expected.

“Do you think the White Lotus will come after you, though?” she asked. Korra had told her that she had left without permission. Apparently they were planning to put her airbending training on hold until the city was healthier and the triads were back under control. Asami had to inwardly scoff at that. If things went their way, the city would stay like this for years to come. There was a reason she was working out here, after all. The city was notoriously slow and stupid when it came to the triads.

Korra shrugged. As if she didn't even think about that. Amazing. Asami was so used to weighing every move she took and here Korra seemed to just roll with whatever happened.

“I dunno. I guess they will eventually. But I'm not leaving until I can convince Tenzin to let me stay. There's so much I can do in the city! I think it needs the Avatar, I can't just hide back at home anymore knowing that I can do something to help,” Korra said with conviction as she started to slurp a noodle into her mouth. “This is a really great place. Almost tastes exactly as it does at home, which is saying something!” She flashed Asami a huge grin which left Asami wondering just where this girl came from.

“Yeah, I found it while I was out riding one day. I wouldn't know how authentic it is, personally though.”

“So, what's your story? I told you all about my life, I'm sure you're getting bored,” Korra laughed.

“Bored? Not a chance,” Asami said resolutely. How Korra could think she was boring was beyond her. “I'll tell you about myself, though there's not much to tell.” At least about Asami Sato at any rate. “I'm an engineer at Future Industries and love to ride fast things, and sometimes crash into Avatars on occasion.”

“What's that like? I've never been to a place like this. I mean, I've never even seen as many Satomobiles in one place as it is! What do you do and is it hard? Or easy?” Korra asked eagerly. Asami wondered if she had been taking her life for granted. So much of it was just what she considered her 'normal.' She didn't really think a lot of it was exciting day-to-day until she got out on the streets, doing her community service.

“It can certainly be interesting. My father had always pushed to be at the front of the pack in terms of innovation and now that he's back, I think we'll be working on a lot of great things. I guess a lot of it comes easier to me than most of the employees, but I've got a bit of an advantage on them, admittedly. Not a lot of people got to get a run down of the newest Satomobile's blueprints like I did when I was younger and before they were even released.” Those were some of Asami's favorite times with her father. He wasn't always well enough to teach her things while he was recovering. In fact, many of the visits she had tried to have with him were few and far between. However, she realized very early on that she should take what she could get.

“Your father? Was he important in Future Industries?” Korra asked cluelessly. It was probably to be expected. Asami wondered just what Korra did day-to-day in a compound of all things.

“You could say that,” Asami said. “He founded Future Industries.”

“Really? That's pretty cool. Wait, Future Industries invented the Satomobile, right? Then that's actually pretty awesome!” Korra said excitedly.

“I don't know, I think being the Avatar has got being the daughter of a reemerging business mogul beat by a long shot,” Asami laughed.

“Psh, it's not like I've been doing anything with it,” Korra said self-deprecatingly. “Hopefully I can change that, but it's people like you that have been helping everyone by inventing all those awesome things.”

Was that really true, though? For as hard as she and her mother has worked to keep Future Industries afloat after her father's injury, the city was still a mess. The could build hundreds of Satomobiles, but that wouldn't stop all the violence that was happening everyday. Her mother's charities were only a bandage put on top of a symptom. Someone had to do something about the triads themselves, not just helping the people they hurt, but of course Asami would never claim that what her mother was doing was insignificant. She knew that her mother's charities were important to a lot of people who didn't have anywhere else to turn. However, it just wasn't enough. Hopefully Korra could help with that now that she was here. Asami would probably have to give her a little visit with her other identity soon.

“Hey, I don't think any Avatar has started out prolific, after all. I think you'll do great here,” Asami told her honestly. Korra might be overly rash, but Asami could help keep that in check if she decided to work with her. What was really important was that Korra actually wanted to help in ways that truly mattered. Asami had seen her act first hand. She certainly wasn't just claiming she wanted to change things in the city, like the Council was. All talk, but no action. Or lying like many police officers were.

“I have a lot to learn about the city, though. That's probably the thing that was stamped into my head the most today,” Korra snorted. “Maybe you can help me get more familiar with the city on the way to Air Temple Island?” She was looking at Asami hopefully and Asami wondered if Korra was hoping for more time with her as much as she was.

“I'd be happy to,” Asami said.

“Great!” Asami figured Korra always beamed as widely as she was now when she was happy. She's never met someone that was so open with her emotions before. It was nice.

“So, I'm guessing you probably built that motorcycle?” Korra asked with a smirk.

“Yes,” she answered, wondering where Korra was going with this as they stepped outside. “Why do you ask?”

“I'm just wondering if me and Naga can keep up with you. I doubt you've had a polar bear-dog to test it against. We could probably take you,” she said as she rubbed Naga's head. For her part, Naga still didn't seemed overly impressed with Asami. She wondered how Korra didn't notice the massive dog glaring at her.

“Oh really? I'm very good at my job, I'll warn you,” Asami said primly as she smoothly straddled her Satocycle, though she made sure to throw a grin at Korra's way to let her know she was only teasing. It seemed Korra was just as competitive as she was, challenging her to a spar and now to a 'race.' As much as they could race in the city proper.

“Naga's pretty fast, though,” Korra grinned.

“All right, let's see who can reach the end of the street first, then,” Asami challenged.

Korra hopped onto Naga just as easily as Asami had gotten on to her motorcycle. At the very least they were both similarly confident in their choices of transportation.

“How are we gonna start this thing?” Korra wondered. “I don't want any cheating.”

“'Cheating?!'” Asami sniffed. “I don't have any reason to cheat when I'm going to beat you.”

“So you say now. Right, Naga?” Naga chuffed happily to Korra's voice and left Asami questioning just how smart she was. Weren't animals belonging to the Avatar a little different?

“We'll go on three,” Asami told her.

“ _On_ three? Not 'one, two, three, then go,' right?” Korra asked suspiciously.

“What do you take me for, Avatar Korra?” Asami mocked gasped. “I'm a woman of my word.”

“Then let's get started! I'm ready to show you that your Satocycles need a _little_ more work.”

Asami didn't believe that for a second especially since she had already outpaced Naga earlier, but she was prepared to have plenty of fun while she was proving Korra wrong. She knew it has been a while since she's acted so silly, but she didn't seem any harm in it. She had taken the day off from work, after all.

It took moments for Asami to count off to three, and then they both took off. She took an early lead, just as she suspected she would, but Asami could still hear Korra from behind her.

“Come on, Naga! Don't let her _win.”_

Naga growled angrily from behind her and suddenly the dog was keeping the same speed next to her. Asami wondered if she was trying as hard as she obviously was, given her panting, to get her back for taking Korra. And then hitting her. She felt bad about that one. Asami certainly hadn't _wanted_ to hit her, but she didn't exactly know how she'd go about telling a polar bear-dog that. Asami had no doubt that the dog had recognized her. Naga always seemed to be staring at her when she could.

They never made it to the end of the street though.

It was a bit ironic, Asami was so careful to make sure she couldn't be tracked down by the police while she was working in the boroughs, but the day they finally find her, she's Asami Sato. Perhaps she had underestimated just how noticeable Naga was when she had been chasing them. Which was really stupid of her, now that she thought about it. Naga was probably the _only_ polar bear-dog on the entire continent, _of course_ people were going to notice an enraged one snarling through the streets.

They had sent a metalbending squad after Korra, if the metal cables that soon wrapped around them both were any indication.

“Hey! What's going on?” Korra asked in alarm.

“It's the police, they won't hurt us,” Asami explained. No, they'd probably just be entirely annoying. She was going to have to bribe them in order to keep from getting formally arrested. If that happened, then they'd probably find her disguise and that could not be allowed to happen. That or name drop. Sadly, she wondered if she would be able to do the same for Korra. Unfortunately, Asami knew from the police scanners she kept in her Satomobiles that the police didn't take kindly to vigilantism. Korra had probably embarrassed them by stepping in and dealing with those Triple Threats herself.

They were soon lifted into the waiting airship where several officers were waiting for them.

“What's going on?” Asami quickly asked them, putting on her best, and rather posh admittedly, 'what is the meaning of this?' act. It was probably what they would expect to hear from her, at any rate.

“We got a call about an incident earlier today. Brawling in the streets. Neither of you would know about that, would you?” one of the officers asked blandly. He was probably the sergeant.

“We _were_ eating lunch,” Asami told him before Korra could say anything. Hopefully she would let Asami deal with this.

“Really? Well, there were more than a few eye-witness accounts of a polar bear-dog, riding Water Tribe woman fighting. And here's the polar bear-dog,” the man said drily.

“Asami doesn't know anything about that. I met her after all the fighting,” Korra said from beside her and Asami had to keep from groaning. Too bad there hadn't been enough time to inform Korra that these men were hardly the people she probably thought they were, being sheltered at a compound really had to be inconvenient. “I was only trying to help that man. If I had waited any longer, he'd probably would have been attacked!”

“Yeah? Well, the city don't need some kid running around and doing our job,” the officer said harshly. “I don't care what you thought. We would have handled it.”

“What would have happened to him if he had to wait for you?” Korra asked incredulously. “They were threatening him _and_ his shop! I couldn't do nothing! It's my job to help people too.”

They were now glaring at each other. Korra probably realized belatedly that she shouldn't have been honest with the officer. It was obvious he wasn't going to hear her out.

“Korra was only helping. I doubt the papers are going to see things your way when they get wind that you arrested the Avatar for keeping a man from getting assaulted,” Asami said darkly.

“And who's gonna tell them?” the man laughed. “I'm getting tired of these kids running around in my city thinking they can fix everything. The papers are treating us like a joke and I'm sick of it. The both of you are going downtown to have a nice good sit before we even _think_ about letting you have a call. Maybe you'll get it in your heads to stop doing our job,” he said bitterly.

This was more brazen of them than Asami would have thought. It was sickening and she suddenly knew why she was working as hard she was more than ever. If these were kind of people the citizens in this city were having to depend on for the law, when they couldn't even follow it themselves, then no wonder everything was as bad as it was.

“And once I get that call, it's going to be to my parents. They're not going to react well to several low-level police officers unlawfully detaining me. I can already hear the radio reports on the lawsuit. 'Police hold Sato Heiress for hours over speeding ticket,'” Asami mocked primly. This was something she wasn't particularly enjoying. Well, the suddenly white and drawn faces of the officers were fun to see admittedly, but she certainly didn't want them looking like that because she was name dropping like a spoiled, rich kid. She knew she and Korra could probably run circles around them, but that would hardly help them in the long run, unfortunately. Asami would be discovered and they both would be in _far_ more trouble than they already were in.

“Oh, for the love of-” the sergeant muttered furiously. “Fine! You'll get your ticket, but we're still taking this one in.” He was jabbing angrily his thumb in Korra's direction.

“And I'm just not going to leave her there. You'll be hearing from Councilman Tenzin and my lawyer _very_ soon,” Asami snapped back. “Korra, _do not_ talk to them at the station. Just wait for someone to come get you.”

“Shut up!” the officer snapped as he finished writing her ticket and slapped it into her hand. “Get her off my airship.”

With that, Asami was unceremoniously lowered back onto the street, Satocycle and all, as the metalbenders flew off with Korra and Naga. Asami had no idea whether her threats had been effective, but she was going to do just as she said. She'd go to Air Temple Island herself, warn Tenzin and then get her family's lawyer. It certainly wasn't the way she really wanted to handle it, but it was probably the best thing for Korra.

Then again, there really was no reason why she couldn't go visit Chief Beifong to let her know what was going on. Beifong certainly didn't like her alter-ego, but Asami thought she was beginning to warm up to her. At the very least, she wasn't trying to outright arrest her when she went to speak with the taciturn woman anymore. Besides, they needed each other. Beifong didn't know which of her officers were on the triad's payroll and Asami was hardly in the legal position to get the kind of information she really needed to go after the top triad leaders. She'd convince the stubborn woman to a trade eventually.

Until then, perhaps this problem was best solved by both playing by the rules and by cheating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems Korra's bringing out Asami's much neglected playful side. Too bad the cops had to get in the way of more korrasami bonding. Oh well, they'll still have plenty more opportunities for that.
> 
> We also get a bit of a taste at the state of Republic City's law enforcement. A corrupted and frustrated organization. Next chapter will introduce Lin and we have my sister to thank for my idea with her. She asked me, "BlueRaith, what are you going to do about Beifong if Korra doesn't meet her in 'Crash'?" Beifong does play a critical role in the city after all and frankly, I *really* like her. It made me sad to think I could possibly leave her out. So, I am giving her a bit of a tweaked role in this story.


End file.
